Smart storage revolution

“ISS gave us three clear business gains: dramatic savings in both, space and handling, long-term improved efficiency and OH&S peace of mind.”

When we talk to people in the industry everybody gets excited. It seems like a revolution: lower prices? Better service? But to ISS ProRack and Peter Boustead, its founder, it’s just ‘getting all racks in a row”: quality, price and most importantly, service.

Racking has become a commodity and it takes commitment to your customers to make the difference.

Peter Boustead has been in the storage business for nearly twenty years. He knows how competitive the industry is and he knows that Australian business needs to look beyond the local horizon for an advantage. He set out to find a product that matches or exceeds the quality of what’s currently on the market, but at the price he believes is fair to smaller and medium business operation.

However, the true innovation is the local component. The real difference, when the price is right, is the attitude to customer service. And that’s what Peter Boustead is about, good customer service. Revolution?

“We don’t do ‘phone sales’. Even on the smallest job we come out to see the customer and the operation, so that we can really understand the scope and any hidden problems you can’t see over the phone. Some larger competitors don’t want to bother with a written quote or design until the prospect has accepted their estimate.

“We always supply CAD drawings with every quote, so that the customer can see exactly what we are proposing and feel he (mostly) is in control,” says Boustead, ISS ProRack founder. “Nobody wants to spend a fortune on racking. We know this; that’s why we went looking for a cost-effective product overseas. But we also know that the support they feel they are getting from us is what makes them satisfied customers. That’s what we aim for.”

“What I like about dealing with ISS is their wide knowledge of warehousing environment and willingness to look outside the square which means that we can turn to ISS for solutions and ideas. ISS understand our sense of urgency,” says Gerry Del Prete, Distribution Manager of Hallmark Cards Australia Ltd.

While racking may be a commodity, the procurement process, involving people, who care about their jobs, their business, unveils a strong need for management support and ability to provide sound business solutions. The following case study demonstrates business gains from the service revolution approach.

Smart storage. Smart savings.

Client: Australian Bathroom Concepts – Noel Woods, Operations Manager

Challenge: “Better utilization of available space is always high on every company’s agenda. Storing glass safely is particularly difficult due to issues with handling the crates, safe working loads and various OH&S regulations. We had all crates were stored on the ground and this horizontal storage meant wasting much valuable floor space with subsequent inefficiencies in handling. Eventually, the situation became so difficult that we even considered moving to new premises.”

Solution: “We first approached our existing supplier. Unfortunately, prices quoted were considerably higher then anticipated. Then, through word-of-mouth, I heard about ISS ProRack. Peter Boustead from ISS visited our premises, discussed our requirements and provided custom engineering design with additional cross support beams for crates, all with full SWL ratings to suit this particular application and at considerably lower costs then anyone else.”

Outcomes: “ISS gave us three clear business gains: dramatic savings in both, space and handling, long-term improved efficiency and OH&S peace of mind. We immediately saved over $25K, more than half of the cost of other suppliers. Our storage capacity for glass increased by 60 per cent and we still have 40 per cent additional floor space remaining. Also, what we spent with ISS we should recover in six to eight months in gained efficiency because now each crate of glass is accessed individually making it fast and safe for people and for the product to be reached.

“Safety is very important for us. Our customised racking, designed to hold heavy crates, is engineered to ensure safety as per Australian Standards. This satisfies our OH&S responsibility and gives us peace of mind. ISS offered us a superb price and a superb solution! And the quality, both physical and installation-wise is clearly visible. Coming from an engineering background I appreciate good quality of construction as well as project handling.”

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